Amanda is my sister-in-law and closest of friends! Amanda and her husband Joe have been trying to become parents for over 6 years now. Time after time, their attempts failed and hope seemed to fade. But just a few months ago, a miracle happened! After an expensive and painful round of IVF, Amanda got pregnant. When I found out they were pregnant I cried. I cried because I wanted her to have the experience of being a Mother more than I wanted ANYTHING in the world. After months and months and years of family prayer, Amanda got her miracle. Here’s a little bit more about here story in Amanda’s words, written just before they tried IVF:
To everyone who has struggled or is struggling with infertility, MY HEART GOES OUT TO YOU. Watching this process has been a huge eye-opener to me, and has made me more sensitive and caring toward all women and Mothers. We all have struggles that can’t be seen, and a struggle with infertility must be among the worst of them.
To women who have lost. To women who have had. To women who have waited and waited. To women like Amanda and countless others, you have my love and heartache.
I’m crying here, writing this post and thinking about this process for Amanda. Now that you understand why these simple dresses mean so much to me, let me tell you a little more about them.
Earlier in her pregnancy Amanda and I were shopping for maternity clothes, and saw this outfit in a shop. We wanted to recreate it in a few colors. I used the Givre Maternity Dress/T-shirt pattern from Deer and Doe. I made View B at dress length which is a sleeveless option. This pattern also comes with a sleeve option. We bought this slub-knit shirt from Old Navy to pair with the dress, it’s just a size small/non-maternity so it will work for her after baby as well.
For fabric we used a Cotton Lycra and a Rib Knit. Can you tell which dress is made from which fabric?
The olive version is a 95/5% cotton/lycra sold by Raspberry Creek Fabrics. The blush pink is a Rib Knit from Indiesew. Look at the way the fabrics hug her body and thighs. The green is much more structured, while the blush is a looser fit. Both of these dresses are cut at the same exact size, although we did lengthen the pink.
Tip for working with Ribbed Knit: size down.
I knew this tip going into this project, but we wanted one dress looser to carry Amanda all the way through her pregnancy. She will likely outgrow the olive version around month 6 and the blush should continue to fit all the way through. If you want ribbed knit to be fitted, size down at least one full size.
This olive color is currently out of stock but here’s a beautiful Charcoal Grey, and the olive is sure to restock soon.
Pretty sure Amanda hasn’t taken this pink dress off since she tried it on. She couldn’t get over how comfortable it is to wear, and if you’ve ever worn Rib Knit you know that’s true! It’s so stretchy and light weight. The perfect layering fabric.
The Givre Maternity Dress/T-shirt pattern from Deer and Doe has two gathering sizes, for the ruching at the sides. I made the smaller 3-6 month size. It called for clear elastic, but I just used some fold-over elastic I had laying around and it worked out great.
Thanks for letting me share this special make with you. Not all things I get to make have so much meaning. Love you Amanda!
Little Fish 